Little Moments
by gothamgirl28
Summary: A collection of stories following Sybil and Tom Branson and their children. Modern AU.
1. Story Time

I originally wrote and posted this story on Tumblr back in July as a thank you for all the birthday wishes I received, as well as to thank shana-rose, cassiemortmain, and the Yankee Countess for birthday fics they wrote me and to thank the wonderful Angie for the awesome gif she made for me. A link to the original story is on my author page.

A thank you to my wonderful beta scarletcourt, who helped me pick out the right story and for just being awesome.

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**Story Time**

Sybil was sitting on the couch reading, enjoying the first quiet time of her day. She looked up at the clock on the wall, wondering how long her children had been napping. They had both been a handful that day. Nora was in a particularly obstinate mood, and both she and Michael had refused to go down for their naps at first. They had finally fallen asleep on her and Tom's king-size bed a little over a half hour ago. Sybil had placed pillows on the bed to prevent Michael from falling off when he rolled over, then had quietly walked to the family room.

Knowing that her children would be up within a half hour, the young mother closed her book and began to tidy the house a little. After fifteen minutes of cleaning, she heard Nora talking through the baby monitor. Worried that her four-year-old daughter was going to wake up her baby brother, Sybil hurried to the bedroom.

She stopped at the doorway, mesmerized by the sight before her eyes. Both of her children were awake, and Nora had grabbed one of Tom's books off the nightstand. She was "reading"_Goodnight Moon_ to Michael, her legs curled up in a similar way to her father.

"…The cow jumping over the moon  
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs  
And two little kittens  
And a pair of mittens"

What truly brought a smile to Sybil's face was the look on her son's face. Michael was lying on his back staring at his sister, captivated by her voice, his hands waving in the air in excitement, a look of pure wonder on his face.

Sybil stood in the doorway for several minutes, watching as Nora "read" other stories to her baby brother. Out of nowhere, she felt two strong and very familiar arms wrap around her. Smiling, she turned her head slightly to see her husband.

"You're home early," she softly said.

"I finished my article earlier than expected, and the rest of my work could be done from home." He turned towards his children and smiled. "This is a very nice sight to see."

She smiled. "I know. I'm thankful though. I was afraid they would argue like Mary and Edith."

He chuckled. "Want to join them?"

She nodded and they entered their room, quickly settling on the bed. Nora beamed at her father and scurried to sit with him while Sybil picked up Michael.

"Continue reading, love," said Tom, and Nora picked up where she left off, reading to her family.


	2. Care

This was originally posted on Tumblr to celebrate both my 6000th post and to welcome my new followers.

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Nora was watching as her mother tended to her baby brother Michael. Her mother, Sybil, was getting him ready for his bath and Nora felt left out.

"Mummy, can I help?"

Sybil smiled at her daughter. "Yes you can!" She paused to think of how Nora could help her, before realizing she hadn't picked out clothes for Michael. "Why don't you pick out what Michael will wear after his bath? His clothes are in the basket. Right on top."

Nora hurried over to the basket in the corner and looked through her brother's clothes. She chose his black, white striped onesie and the matching socks, and brought them to her mother, who had removed Michael's clothes. "Here mummy."

"Thank you, Nora. Do you want to help me with Michael's bath?"

The little girl nodded her head. Sybil picked up Michael, grabbed his blanket, and headed into the kitchen with Nora on her heels.

As Sybil turned on the taps and got the water to the right temperature, Nora asked, "Why are we in the kitchen and not the bathroom? I always have a bath in there."

"Because Michael is too small for the bathtub. It's safer to bathe him in the kitchen sink." Seeing that her daughter was still not convinced, Sybil added, "Your dad and I used to bathe you in the sink too."

Nora smiled momentarily at this before her smile faded. "I miss da."

Sybil sighed. "I know, love. I miss him too and I know he misses you and Michael so much. He'll be home tomorrow."

"I know. It's not the same."

"I know." Sybil paused for a moment, before Michael started to fuss. "Let's get your brother bathed. Okay?"

"Okay."

With little Nora's assistance, Sybil bathed her son and got him dressed. He fussed a bit when they put his socks on, but that was because Nora accidentally tickled his feet.

Once he was dressed, Sybil put Michael in his playpen and set about straightening up. Nora sat in the living room, playing with her stuffed Despicable Me minion dolls, Stuart and Dave, as well as with her chocolate brown stuffed bear, Teddy. Michael was watching her, always fascinated with his older sister.

After ten minutes, Michael began to cry. Sybil knew instantly that he was hungry and set about preparing his bottle and heating it up. When it was done heating, Sybil felt a tug on her shirt. She looked down to see Nora.

"What is it, darling?" she asked.

Nora softly asked, "Can I feed Michael, mummy?"

Sybil looked at her daughter for a moment, thinking over if it Nora could handle feeding Michael or not. Deciding it would be fine, she said, "Yes. But you have to sit on the sofa."

She barely had gotten the words out when Nora scrambled into the living room and plopped herself onto the sofa, eagerly looking up at her mother. Sybil smiled and walked into the living room, placing the bottle on the coffee table. She grabbed a pale blue blanket with white polka dots and covered Nora's legs with it. Then she picked a squirming Michael up and placed him on Nora's lap, gently saying, "You need to use your hand to cradle his head."

"Yes, mummy," the four-year-old beamed. She gently cradled her brother, telling him, "Don't worry, Michael. I'll take care of you."

Sybil smiled at her daughter's words and handed her the bottle. She guided Nora in how to hold a bottle properly, then sat on the coffee table to watch over her children. Noticing how Michael and Nora were looking at each other and how Nora was whispering to her baby brother, Sybil quietly grabbed her cell phone from her sweater pocket and took a few pictures. She then quickly sent off a text.

Across an ocean, Tom Branson was eating lunch with a colleague when he heard his phone go off. He quickly pulled it out and checked his messages. He saw immediately the text from Sybil and opened it, beaming at what he saw.

It was a picture of Nora feeding Michael his bottle. Sybil's text said, "Nora taking care of Michael."

Tom could think of only one thing then. _I can't wait to get home tomorrow._


End file.
